Naruto: Path towards Godhood

One Week Later,

In Konoha Village,

"Hey, did you hear that news about a Genin team who killed a Jonin?"

"I heard that as well. Aren't Jonin those senior ninjas? How did the bunch of kids kill such a powerful ninja?"

"Well, I heard they were sent to the battlefield as baits by Lord Hokage, but they managed to turn the situation and defeat the enemy."

"Impossible! Lord Hokage won't do such a thing."

"Shh! That's nothing. I heard Lord Hokage even planned to kill Nakamura and Ito's family after he learned those two kids survived."

"Now, you are just talking nonsense."

"No, I am serious. If it wasn't for Uchiha Clan's presence, those two families would've been killed to save his reputation."

"No, no, you can't say that. What if he attacks us to clear his reputation?"

As the discussion began to turn for the worse, the people themselves realized the trouble and walked away separately.

This wasn't happening in one part of the village. It was happening everywhere.

And the people who started these rumors were none other than Uchiha Clan.

Although the thing about bait and Team 25 killing a Jonin was true, the news about Hokage killing Nakamura and the Ito family to stabilize his reputation was false.

It was something that Ken personally told his uncle to spread as quickly as possible.

At this moment, these weren't the only rumors going on. There were some more, and these were being discussed with more secrecy.

"I heard Lord Hokage planned to use his best friend Danzo to kill those families so that people wouldn't doubt him."

"Who is Danzo? Wait, is that the same Hokage's advisor Danzo?"

"Yeah! I heard that if Lord Hokage wants to do anything bad, he will use the hands of his best friend so no stain will be left on him."

"Shut up! How can Hokage-sama do that? Isn't he the most powerful person in the village?"

"Shh! Don't you know he is old? Even his students have surpassed him in strength, but he doesn't want to give up his position to someone."

"I heard he and Danzo planned to make sure Hatake Sakumo will fail the mission, and his reputation will be destroyed so that he can't become the next Hokage."

"But didn't Sakumo commit suicide because of his mistake?"

"No….."

"Shut up!"

Just when he was talking even more, a loud noise stopped him. When he turned around, those people saw a kid with white hair standing there.

He wore a blue mask and had a sword on his back.

"You are not allowed to talk about this anymore, or I will, Anbu," Kakashi spoke coldly.

But those people immediately recognized him and started talking.

"You….. You are his son, aren't you? Don't you want to understand why your father?"

"Yeah, if it wasn't for this mistake, we wouldn't even know how dirty those people are."

"Your father gave up his life because of those two people."

Hearing those words, Kakashi's eyes turned red as he hoarsely spoke.

"He didn't die because of that. He died because he was a coward. If you keep talking nonsense, I will beat you here."

His threats weren't simple. Although he was just nine years old kid, he was a Chunin.

Those people talking about it were just normal people, not even Genin.

So, naturally, they ran away in fear.

"Kakashi! Kakashi, why are you here? We were searching for you." An obnoxious voice came from the side as a black-haired kid came running toward Kakashi.

He was followed by a brown hair girl who had two rectangular-shaped marks on her face.

Unlike the black-haired kid, she sensed some sadness around him and softly asked.

"Kakashi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Are we going to meet Minato-sensei?" Kakashi didn't let the tears fall. He quickly wiped those away and turned around with a cold expression.

"Hey, Rin is asking you something nicely. Why are you being so cold toward her?" The black-haired boy naturally couldn't bear Kakashi's cold attitude and shouted.

"It's okay, Obito. Kakashi is in a bad mood." Rin didn't mind his attitude. Instead, she turned toward the black-haired kid and tried to calm him down.

As Obito calmed down, they quickly went to their training ground and waited for their Sensei.

While waiting, Obito couldn't stop talking.

"Rin, did you hear about the recent news? Uchiha Ken and his team killed a Jonin."

Rin nodded her head and showed a look of admiration.

"Yeah, I didn't think you could fight a Jonin as a Genin, much less kill him."

"Hehe! I know about Ken. He isn't as much of a genius as me. If he can kill a Jonin, so I can." Obito proudly patted his chest and spoke.

He wasn't wrong. He was better at Ken because he could use Fireball Jutsu better than Ken.

"Humph! You can't even defeat a Chunin." Kakashi couldn't stand his words and spoke coldly.

"Kakashi, you bastard! Why do you think I can't defeat a chunin?" Obito immediately entered a rage mode and shouted.

"Can you defeat me?" Kakashi asked with a cold tone, and Obito was immediately stuck.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew Kakashi was better than him, and Kakashi was only a Chunin.

Even so, his pride couldn't allow him to take back his words.

"Humph! It doesn't matter. I was better than Ken before. It was only because he awakened Sharingan that he became stronger. If I can awaken Sharingan, I will be stronger than him."

"You are underestimating your clan member, Obito." A voice came from behind as a yellow-haired man suddenly appeared behind him.

"Minato-sensei! You almost gave me a heart attack." Obito was frightened by the sudden presence of his Sensei, and only after seeing his face, he controlled his heartbeat.

"A coward like you will remain a coward even if you awaken Sharingan." Kakashi couldn't help but make fun of Obito when he saw him in that situation.

"What did you say?" Obito immediately entered the rage mode once again.

"Teacher, do you know more about that incident and Uchiha Ken?" Rin decided to shift the topic to calm Obito down and gain Kakashi's attention.

Her trick worked as Obito instantly calmed down while Kakashi turned toward Minato.

Minato was a handsome man with yellow hair. He was Jonin and also a Jonin Sensei of their class.

He nodded and explained.

"Uchiha Ken was the number one student during the third year of his academy. Before that, he was barely above average. It was only during the last month before his graduation he began improving rapidly."

"That was confirmed during his daily battles with other students. Both Nakamaru Mito and Ito Jenzi are strong Genin, but it was thanks to Ken that they were able to defeat three Chunin and one Jonin."

"What? Three Chunin as well?" Obito shouted in shock.

Even Kakashi was stunned.

Don't forget, he was a Chunin as well. If Ken and his team could win against Chunin, didn't that mean they would win against him as well?

Seeing his look, Minato smiled and explained.

"Don't worry, they are still Genin in terms of strength. Ken woke up three days ago and explained everything to Lady Tsunade and Lord Orochimaru."

"They used diversion and delay tactics to defeat those Chunin. Ken defeated his enemy first; then he went on to help Jenzi's enemy."

"His first enemy was a strong puppeteer. And, Jenzi's enemy was also a Wind Release user. If Shinku-senpai hadn't given him a lot of Exploding Tags, he couldn't have delayed his enemy until Ken ended his enemy."

"Then, the only remaining one was Mito's energy, and she used Hidden Mist Jutsu to delay until Ken arrived and finished that enemy."

"Doesn't that mean only Ken is strong?" Kakashi asked.

Minato shook his head and said.

"You can't say that. For example, if Mito hadn't used her Hidden Mist Jutsu to delay her enemy, she would've either fought a hard battle or would've died."

"The same goes for Jenzi. In their first battle, only Jenzi suffered some wounds. And, that was due to opponent's Wind Release."

"It was only during their battle with Jonin where they were pushed to their absolute limit. And, in the end, it was thanks to their teamwork they won."

At this moment, Kakashi couldn't help but show a look of contempt and disbelief.

"Impossible! Only Ken should be able to damage Jonin."

Minato shook his head and said.

"(In my battle against that Jonin, not a single attack from me landed on him. It was only when Mito and Jenzi managed to create small chances for me, that I was able to damage.)"

"(If Mito hadn't overexerted her Chakra to save me or if Jenzi hadn't exchanged his wounds for a perfect opportunity to strike, I would've lost that battle.)"

"These were his words when he described his battle with the Jonin. Only Ken was indeed able to inflict damage on his enemy. But without his teammates, he wouldn't even be able to do that."

Saying so, he looked at his team and said.

"That's why if you don't understand the essence of teamwork and work hard, you won't even be able to see their shadows."